10 Iconic Storylines That DC Should Adapt After Batman: The Killing Joke

Despite some controversy surrounding the relationship between Batgirl and the Dark Knight in Batman: The Killing Joke, Warner Bros. Animation's latest DC Comics adaptation has been a huge hit, scoring positive reviews and even an impressive run at the box office following a limited opening in North America and the UK. The studio is already working on Justice League Dark and a number of other exciting sounding projects, but which other DC Comics events and storylines should be brought to life in animated form? While many of these could just as easily be adapted to live-action, there are a lot of reasons why they would be better suited to the same format which made The Killing Joke so great. So, with that in mind, what you'll find here are the ten most iconic storylines which we would like to see adapted as animated movies in the near future. Chances are many of these will happen, but until they're confirmed, we'll continue to speculate. 10) Endgame Endgame revolves around the "final" confrontation between Batman and The Joker, and there's a lot in there which would almost certainly make the Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo tale a hit as an animated feature. For starters, it kicks off with the Dark Knight squaring off with the Justice League after they fall under the control of the Clown Prince of Crime, an action packed sequence that would be great to see brought to life in in an animated film. Endgame also teases The Joker's history and makes it clear that he's well aware Batman and Bruce Wayne are one and the same after he invades the Batcave, chops off Alfred's hand and even taunts the hero about the murder of his parents. The story ends with both Batman and The Joker seemingly dying, which is something that has a lot of potential to be just as memorable as what we saw in The Killing Joke. 9) Superman: Red Son There are a lot of great Superman stories out there which could be explored in an animated feature, but seeing as many of the most iconic tales have already been done, why not try adapting one set in an alternate reality? In the 1950s set Superman: Red Son, the young Kal-El crash landed in Russia and was brought up to be an agent of the Soviet Union. Understandably, a superpowered alien under Soviet control caused panic in the United States, shifting the focus of the Cold War arms race from nuclear weapons to superhumans. What followed in the Mark Millar-penned story was a fascinating look at an alternate history which included new versions of Batman, Wonder Woman and more. The ending, meanwhile, offers up a particularly memorable twist. 8) DC One Million DC One Million wasn't that great, but the potential for it to be turned into something amazing is definitely there. The basic premise of the massive crossover tale from the late 90s was that it set out to show readers what the DC Universe would look like in the 853rd century. Superman was still alive, while the solar system was being watched over by the Justice League Alpha, a team made up of future analogues of Wonder Woman, Hourman, Starman, Aquaman, The Flash and Batman. Solaris and Vandal Savage are the main villains, and after the latter took on a leading role in the Legends of Tomorrow TV series, now would be a good time for him to take centre stage in one of these animated films. A loose adaptation of the story would probably work best, but any sort of glimpse into the future of this world could be really interesting to explore in a movie. 7) The Sinestro Corps War Green Lantern is being left out of next year's live-action Justice League movie, and it currently looks like we're going to have to wait until 2020 to see the character back on the big screen. The reboot jumping straight into the Sinestro Corps War (a battle the 2011 version teased far too soon in its after-credits scene) is unlikely, so getting to see it before then in animated form would be a lot of fun for fans. The massive crossover event by Geoff Johns followed the Green Lanterns of Earth along with the rest of the Green Lantern Corps as they fought an interstellar war against the Sinestro Corps, an army led by the former Green Lantern Sinestro who were armed with yellow power rings and hoped to create a universe ruled through fear. If handled the right way, this could be a true two-part epic similar to The Dark Knight Returns. 6) Blackest Night Another massive Green Lantern story, which ran for almost a year, Blackest Night featured the return of Nekron, a personified force of death who re-animated deceased superheroes and set out to eliminate all life and emotion from the universe. To help counter this threat, all of the different Corps were forced to work together, and everyone from Batman to The Flash were granted power rings in a bid to save reality. Blackest Night also featured the resurrection of a several fan-favourite characters including Aquaman, Firestorm, Martian Manhunter and Professor Zoom. Many of them are obviously alive and well in the DC Animated Universe, but there's still the potential here for a massive event which has some serious ramifications for all these films moving forward. 5) Batman: The Long Halloween Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale's thirteen part masterpiece takes place during Batman's early years as he takes on a mysterious new killer known as Holiday who strikes once every month on a specific holiday. Working with District Attorney Harvey Dent and Captain James Gordon, Batman races against the calendar as he tries to discover who Holiday is before he claims his next victim, while attempting to stop the crime war between two of Gotham's most powerful families. It's an epic story which includes many of the Caped Crusader's most iconic villains, while it also established Calendar Man as a significant threat in Batman's world. In some ways, Batman: The Long Halloween would work better as an episodic tale, but if Warner Bros. Animation can find a good way to adapt the lengthy story, then it's essential that they do so as soon as possible. 4) Superman: Birthright Superman: Birthright is considered the definitive origin story for the Man of Steel by the vast majority of comic book fans, and it's easy to see why. Following Clark Kent as a young man as he attempts to learn more about his alien heritage, Mark Waid and Leinil Yu go on to explain how Clark Kent found his way to The Daily Planet and into the lives of characters like Lois Lane and Lex Luthor. The latter serves as the main villain here, though there are plenty of cool twists and turns and a very touching ending which lends something new to the character's well-known background. Packed full of iconic imagery, Superman: Birthright could be just what is needed after the much darker version of the Man of Steel that we've become accustomed to in the DC Films Universe and a nice reminder of what makes the character great. 3) Forever Evil When Earth-1 was invaded by the villainous members of The Crime Syndicate from Earth-3, the Justice League was left trapped and the evil doppelgangers of characters like Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman quickly took control of the planet. When it became apparent that this group would ultimately destroy the world, Lex Luthor decided to take action by assembling an Injustice League to take them down, and by the time all was said and done in Forever Evil, Lex was hailed as a hero and actually became a member of the League. That's a status quo that would be great to see established in the DC Animated Universe, while this story is definitely epic enough to be told across a ninety minute feature, especially as it would introduce viewers to the likes of Ultraman and Superwoman. 2) Kingdom Come Kingdom Come is such a well respected classic that the fact it still hasn't been adapted in any form is genuinely shocking. For those who don't know, it's set in a future that deals with a growing conflict between the visibly out-of-touch "traditional" superheroes and a growing population of largely amoral and dangerously irresponsible new vigilantes. While that's all taking place, Batman assembles a team in an attempt to contain the escalating disaster, foil the machinations of Lex Luthor and prevent a world-ending superhuman war. This is something which would be amazing to see in live-action, but for now, an animated version would be more than welcome and quite possibly the best way to do Mark Waid and Alex Ross' ambitious tale the justice it deserves. 1) The Darkseid War The most recent comic book story listed here, The Darkseid War would make for a perfect sequel to the Justice League: War animated movie which came out a few years ago. The story revolves around two of the most deadly villains of the DC Multiverse, the Dark God Darkseid and the Anti God the Anti-Monitor as they take aim at each other with the Justice League and the entire human race caught in the crossfire. Wonder Woman's history was also explored in this story as some major revelations about the Amazons were made as we met the deranged daughter of Darkseid whose mother was an Amazonian warrior who gave birth on the same night Diana was born. Making Wonder Woman the focus of this story would be a smart move, while the Justice League being present would almost certainly ensure that it's a hit.